


This Far Down the Road

by DhampirsDrinkEspresso



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alcohol, Divorced Rey, F/F, F/M, Grandfather Ben Solo, M/M, Matchmaking Granddaughter, Prom, Rating May Change, See Chapter and Story Notes as Well, Spiked Punch, Tags May Change, Widower Ben, chaperone, mature romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28933053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DhampirsDrinkEspresso/pseuds/DhampirsDrinkEspresso
Summary: Rey Niima, recently divorced math teacher, has to chaperone prom. One of her students brings an unusual date-her grandfather-and Rey finds herself entertaining ideas of maybe starting over again at 42.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 19
Kudos: 43





	This Far Down the Road

**Author's Note:**

> So, if you didn't pick up on it from the summary and tags, Rey is over 40 and recently amicably divorced, Ben is a widower in his 60s with custody of his orphaned granddaughter. There may be discussions of losing his wife (and Jaina's parents), addiction, mentions of pregnancy (past and/or future), and substance abuse. It was meant to be a light story but there are always heavy themes in life.
> 
> Rating might increase, not sure yet. Tags will be updated as needed.
> 
> Story Title is a line from Reba McEntire's 'Starting Over Again' (Dolly Parton's version is also awesome, but not the one that sparked the title idea and helped me come up with more than just "Ben is his granddaughter's prom date and Rey thinks he's hot").

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey chaperones prom and meets Ben Solo-her student's date for the night.
> 
> “Rey.” _He said it slowly, voice softer and lower than only a moment ago, mouth working around the single syllable as if savoring it on his tongue. It was enough to make her breath catch. He reached out and she found herself letting him take her hand. It looked and felt tiny in comparison to his, and then he covered it with his other hand, so he was holding her one small hand in both of his own._
> 
> _What was happening?_
> 
> _Was her favorite student’s prom date actually hitting on her?_
> 
> _Was she_ letting _him?_

Rey eyed her reflection critically. The fine lines were getting less fine every day, she’d given up on covering the grey that had been creeping into her hair for years, and even though she’d managed to mostly keep up with her exercise routine there was still a bit of weight gain thanks to a decreasing metabolism, and gravity was definitely starting to have an overall effect.

It was all to be expected, and truly she wasn’t too terribly upset to be over forty and look it.

It was just…she had expected things to be _different_.

A home, a family, maybe even a still-devoted spouse and a pet or three—a cat that loved curling up in her lap, and maybe a couple of mutts who didn’t realize they were too big to be lap dogs.

But no, that wasn’t meant to be.

She’d thought it was, for a while, had deluded herself into believing she was happy in her marriage, and they’d had a lovely house, even if it hadn’t ever really felt like a home. But there had been no children, and the only pet an aged, smelly retired show cat who hated Rey with great passion.

Her husband hadn’t been terrible, they’d shared over a decade of affection and friendship (and even in the end, the occasional instance of decent and surprisingly energetic sex), but she knew he wasn’t truly happy either. Then she’d seen the way he looked at a particular co-worker (and the way that co-worker had looked back at him), and it had been the final factor in her decision to initiate divorce proceedings.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to getting ready.

She was forty-two, divorced, living in a shitty apartment, and chaperoning prom.

It didn’t promise to be a _fun_ evening, but it would get her out for a few hours, and she looked forward to seeing her students have a good time.

“Hi Mrs. H—Sorry! Ms. Niima!” Jaina Solo was blushing when Rey looked up from the registration table.

“Hello, Jaina,” Rey replied, reaching out for the girl’s tickets with what she hoped was a gentle and friendly smile. Jaina had been in Rey’s honors and AP math classes for three years now, and like a few other students (not to mention colleagues), she still sometimes slipped and used Rey’s former married name. “You look lovely, I like your dress, and I’m glad to see you didn’t let anyone pressure you into not wearing your boots.” Rey offered, glancing at the list on her clipboard. Jaina grinned, pleased at Rey’s support. Several of Jaina’s friends had urged her to wear high heels and she had repeatedly refused; insistent she would be wearing her cowboy boots with the knee-length lavender chiffon dress she had chosen.

“Is your plus one here? You have to go in together if you aren’t with a fellow Central Chandrila student.”

“Oh, yes, he went to park the truck,” Jaina said with a grin, like she had a secret. Before the girl could say anything else, Rey heard the clomp of another pair of boots and a deep voice interrupted as a tall man—not boy, definitely a _man_ —stepped up behind the girl and gently took her arm to loop through his.

“Sorry, Pumpkin, had to go around the block to the parking deck, the truck wouldn’t fit in any of those spaces.”

Rey blinked in shock, unsure how to proceed. There were no rules against it, really, and no red flags or instinctive alarm, but the man was at least in his fifties (Rey was betting on a young sixty-something) and as far as she was aware, Jaina was still dating Tallie Lintra, who had graduated the previous year.

“It’s okay, Grampa,” Jaina said, and Rey relaxed as the girl turned back and beamed at her. “Ms. Niima, this is my Grampa Ben. He’s my prom date since Tallie couldn’t make it back from her spring finals in time.”

‘Grampa Ben’ held out his hand with a smile that deepened the lines around his eyes and mouth. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Niima. Ben Solo. Jaina talks about you all the time, and it’s usually even good things.”

Jaina gasped and elbowed her grandfather as he and Rey laughed and shook hands. “Well, I do tend to assign more homework than Mr. Dameron,” Rey said. “It’s lovely to meet you.” There was some impatient muttering from somewhere behind the tall, broad, silver fox as the line of waiting students increased and she gestured at the doors into the local conference center ballroom beside her. “Have a nice time!”

“Thanks, Ms. Niima!” Jaina called, practically dragging her grandfather into the large room as she spotted a group of her marching band friends in the photo line.

Rey watched them go, unable to stop smiling, and then turned to the next students in line.

Rey smiled again as she watched Mr. Solo lead Jaina around the dance floor, both of them laughing and seeming to have the time of their lives as they pulled off an intricate variation of what seemed to be the fox trot and did not at all fit with the thumping bass rattling through the speakers. When Jaina returned to the table and grabbed a water bottle, three other girls gathered around Mr. Solo, all talking animatedly and gesturing at their dates along the walls.

The next thing anyone knew, Jaina and her grandfather were giving impromptu dance lessons to half a dozen couples. There were still a lot of odd looks, pointing, and muttered comments about it being ‘weird’ (mostly from other students but a few of the more uptight and jealous faculty had expressed their distaste as well). Overall, though, Mr. Solo seemed to get along swimmingly with his granddaughter’s classmates, and Rey suspected at least a couple of Jaina’s friends were harboring crushes on their friend’s surprisingly fit and youngish grandfather.

Rey certainly would have at that age.

Or her current one, truthfully.

In fact, she may have already spent a good deal of her time over the course of the evening wondering what those hands of his would feel like on her skin.

As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Mr. Solo looked up and made eye contact across the room before smiling and starting to walk her way. Rey stood up straight, breathing a little harder as he approached, for some reason unable to look away from those eyes.

“Ms. Niima,” he said once he was close enough, adding a smile and respectful nod.

“Mr. Solo,” she said, returning both the smile and the nod.

“Please, call me Ben.”

“Then you simply must call me Rey.”

“ _Rey._ ” He said it slowly, voice softer and lower than only a moment ago, mouth working around the single syllable as if savoring it on his tongue. It was enough to make her breath catch. He reached out and she found herself letting him take her hand. It looked and felt tiny in comparison to his, and then he covered it with his other hand, so he was holding her one small hand in both of his own.

What was happening?

Was her favorite student’s prom date actually hitting on her?

Was she _letting_ him?

“So, Ms. Niima—Rey—are chaperones allowed a dance?”

“I…well, it’s a little irregular, but as far as I know there’s no rule against it as long as it isn’t with a student.”

“Good to know.” He shifted his hold, pulling her gently forward. “Would you do me the honor, then, Rey?”

She nodded, unable to make her mouth form words for a moment as he smiled and turned to lead her onto the floor as some love ballad from an eighties hair band started. She glanced at the DJ’s booth and saw a grinning Jaina there, shooting Rey a thumbs up before she practically skipped back to her giggling friends.

Rey shook her head as Ben settled his arms into place, one hand on her hip and the other holding hers.

“I’m not very good at this,” she offered weakly, unsure if she meant dancing, flirting, or adulting in general.

His fingers flexed against her hip as he urged her into a simple box step. “Oh, I think you’re better than you realize,” he said, and she fought to suppress a shiver. “Besides, it’s about having fun,” he added, flashing a mischievous grin before twirling her in a circle and then dipping her lower than she would have been able to bend without the support of his arms.

Her surprised yelp and subsequent laughter echoed a little in the large room, and he was smiling at her again as he lifted her back upright and swayed in place with her.

People were watching, she _knew_ they were, but she kept forgetting there was anyone else in the room—the world.

The song ended, and Ben actually bowed low over her hand and kissed her knuckles before uttering a low ‘Thank you’ and returning to the giggling knot of teenagers surrounding his granddaughter. Rey watched him go and placed a hand on her flaming cheek.

That man…

She shook her head and turned, intending to head back to the corner and return to her supervisory duties, but the sight of someone leaning over the punch bowl had her changing directions. “What the bloody hell are you doing?” she hissed, causing Snap Wexley to straighten and jump a bit. “Snap, you’re a _chaperone_ ,” she said, snatching the flask from his hand.

“Yeah, so are you,” he said, with a meaningful look toward the Solos.

“What I did wasn’t illegal and dangerous.”

“No, just whorish.”

She would not slap him. She would not. No matter how much he deserved it.

She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by a deep voice. “That was rude of you, Coach Wexley,” Ben Solo said from somewhere over Rey’s left shoulder. “You should apologize, and maybe then you and I should take a walk, get some fresh air.” That was the moment Rey realized Snap was drunk. Deciding to let Ben handle the tennis-coach-slash-history-teacher, Rey reached for the punch bowl and lifted it into her arms, grateful it was only half full or she wouldn’t have been able to carry it.

She saw Vice Principal Holdo in the small storage room/kitchen area and stumbled, sloshing a bit of the spiked punch out of the bowl. “Oh, good evening, Rey!”

“Hello, Amilyn,” she replied, managing to muster a smile.

“Someone spike the punch again this year?”

Rey nodded, carrying the bowl the rest of the way to the shallow sink. “I believe I got to it in time, before any of the students drank it.” She watched the liquid swirl down the drain and set about washing the bowl for a refill. There were still two hours left for the dance, and they were nearly out of bottled waters.

“Rey?”

She tensed, suspecting she knew what question was coming next.

“You saw who did it, didn’t you?”

She closed her eyes and nodded.

“Was it Coach Wexley?”

She sighed and turned around, grabbing a paper towel to wipe her soapy hands. “Yes. I caught him in the act. He’s…Amilyn, he’s been drinking. Heavily.”

The vice principal cursed and muttered to herself for a moment before patting Rey on the arm. “Thank you, Rey. I’ll take it from here. He was doing so well, but his divorce is getting ugly. I should have known better than to make him chaperone tonight.” She started to leave then paused. “Where is he now?”

“Jaina Solo’s _date_ took him out for some air.”

“Ah, yes, Ben Solo,” the tall woman said with a grin, taking in Rey’s blush. “He’s single, you know, a widower, and he’s Jaina’s guardian. A bit wild in his younger years, but he settled down when his daughter was born. Owns his own business, nice to look at, and I have it on good authority he inherited a family fortune or two. Quite a catch, really.”

Rey sputtered and the administrator laughed and shot her a wink before turning serious again and leaving in search of Coach Wexley.

With Snap gone, Rey’s night became exponentially busier, and the remaining time flew by quickly. Suddenly, Rey was faced with a nearly empty room, a shortage of chaperones, and only half of the clean up committee (which was, honestly, a surprisingly decent turn out).

She wasn’t about to complain, as Jaina was one of the half that remained…along with her date. He’d shrugged out of his suit jacket and tie and rolled back his sleeves when clean up began, and Rey found herself watching Ben Solo more than supervising clean up efforts. Fortunately, the kids were a good group and didn’t really require too much supervision or direction for simple clean up duties. All they really needed to do were turn off and collect the battery-operated candles in the centerpieces, empty the garbage, and gather the tablecloths to return to the linen rental company. It had been cheaper than allowing the venue to charge for linens and chair draperies—leaving just enough money for the “clean up fee” that included not having to put away the tables and chairs or clean up every speck of glitter and confetti—which was fortunate as there was quite a bit of both, and some of the blasted confetti had glitter on it.

She brushed (uselessly) at some glitter on her shoulder and then looked up at a commotion across the room to find Ben Solo directing a couple of the boys on the clean up committee in folding the long refreshment table. They seemed to have trouble carrying it and the man just picked it up in a seemingly effortless movement and carried it across the room by himself, balancing and lowering it to lean against the wall near the locked storage closet. He returned and wrestled the bags out of the waste bins with ease, even though the fullest was nearly as tall as Rey.

A group of students half-dragged them out and she realized with a start that they were done.

Jaina and her grandfather were talking seriously about something, and the girl gestured to a group of her friends and shot the man a pleading look. He crossed his arms and gave her a serious face for a bit before smiling and nodding, to which Jaina actually shrieked and clapped her hands, grasping his upper arm and popping up on her toes to kiss his cheek before dashing off to join the laughing group of teens already on their way out the door.

He looked up and Rey found herself unable to do anything other than stare back and return the slow, soft smile he shot her way as he crossed the room to claim his jacket and tie from one of the chairs near where Rey had (maybe intentionally) stationed herself for the end of clean up time.

She watched as he folded the silk tie and tucked it into his pocket, then draped the jacket over his arm. “The kids are going to pick up fresh donuts at the place across town, and bring them to the house to eat by the pond,” he offered. She nodded. That sounded like the kind of party that would be far more fun (not to mention safe) than what she knew a lot of the students would be getting up to.

“May I walk you to your car?” he asked in that voice of his, and Rey barely suppressed a shiver. She almost refused, an automatic response of ‘I’m fine, really, that’s not necessary,’ hovering on her tongue at the ready. But he held out his arm they way he had for Jaina earlier and Rey found herself nodding her assent and looping her arm through his, hand coming to rest on his forearm.

“I’m in the lot, not far from the door,” she said as they headed to the exit. “About the only perk of arriving ridiculously early to supervise set up and chaperone.”

He chuckled and she felt it like an electric shock.

They walked slowly, and even though he was probably just holding back to match her pace, she fancied maybe he didn’t want the evening to be over yet any more than she did.

“What happened, with Snap?”

He sighed, and she thought he sounded a bit sad about it. “Not much, really. Ami—er, Vice Principal Holdo—took him home.”

Rey shook her head sadly. “I don’t know if she’ll be able to save his job this time.”

“She shouldn’t have before,” Ben said softly, but it wasn’t a condemnation, just a regret. “He needs time and help, not enabling.”

Rey nodded absently and with a start realized they’d reached the parking area. “I’m just down there,” she said, indicating her modest compact hatchback in the first non-reserved parking space.

Ben nodded and paused a moment before leading her the rest of the way down the sidewalk and halting in front of the dull red vehicle. “Well, I suppose this is good night.”

“I suppose so,” she said softly, staring at the concrete beneath her feet as he released her arm and she took a step, putting some space between them.

“Ms. Niima—Rey!”

She turned as he caught her lightly by the elbow. “Yes, Ben?” Her chest heaved as her breathing picked up and her heart threatened to burst out of her chest.

“Rey, I…your tires are bald, you need to get them replaced,” he said quickly, “For safety’s sake.”

She prayed he didn’t see the disappointment as she shook her head and forced a weak laugh. “Teacher’s salary,” she said.

“My dad’s old shop has educator discounts, and payment plans, and I assure you others do as well.”

She bit her lip and glanced down. “Maybe,” she said.

“Rey, I’m sorry, that wasn’t even what I wanted to say, I—”

He seemed at a loss for words, and then muttered, “I’m an old fool and I don’t know how to do this…Good night, Ms. Niima.” Rey fished her keys out of her purse and pressed the button to unlock the doors, wondering if it would work this time. It did, on the second try, anyway, and she reached for the door handle as an SUV rolled to a slow stop.

“Ms. Niima!” She turned and saw Jaina leaning out the back window. “Grampa and I want to invite you to Sunday dinner, tomorrow after church, so say 1:30? You have to come, I won’t take no for an answer, see you then.” Jaina raised the window and the vehicle rolled away before Rey could do more than blink. She turned to find a rather sheepish looking Ben with his hands in his pockets.

“Ah, that might be what I actually wanted to say.”

“I think that sounds delightful.”

He smiled then, that full, real smile, and Rey wanted to trace his smile lines and kiss his dimples. “Good. Tomorrow then. Jaina said to tell you she already emailed you the address and our contact numbers.” He shook his head, and it was hard to tell in the dim parking lot light, but she thought he might be blushing. It was endearing and she found herself returning the few steps to his side and going up on her toes, hand on his bicep for balance, and pressed her lips slowly to his cheek. It was longer than the quick peck his granddaughter had given him, and it meant something else entirely.

She hoped he could help her figure out what that something was.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ben.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the greatest regrets of my life is that I didn't take my grandfather seriously when he offered to take me to prom. I don't think I realized at the time that he wasn't joking, and he absolutely would have washed his truck, worn his Sunday best, boots included, and I would have had the memory of the most awesome prom date ever. Fortunately Jaina didn't make my mistake.


End file.
